Cael
'Overview' Cael (Ky-el) is, in short, a land made up of floating lands suspended in the sky. Technology in the world could be equivalent to around the 1940's despite their current year of 1793. The world below it, if it even exists, isn't seen due to the mass cloud coverage below the many islands. Any aircraft that have tried to venture below the clouds has never returned. It is lead to believe that below them are massive storms that rage onward while also allowing these islands to float stabily on the pressure systems. A more religious belief comes from the legends of the saviors, a group of people that were able to raise the lands of the world below them to save the people from destruction from these massive storms. Currently Cael is undergoing a period of exploration, colonialmism, and imperialism. Many of the larger nations finding islands and groups of "primitave" peoples and are taking advantage of them, attempting to civilize them and use their lands to further better their economies and nations. This has been possible due to the many Air Forces controled by the "Big Five", the five imperial superpowers in Cael. With five powers and a world of resources it seems like a ticking time bomb before the first intercontinental war will begin to break out. 'Religion' Though the religions of Cael differ heavily from country to country, many of them have one thing in common which leaves philosophers baffled. Each one of them holds the story of a savior, someone who raised the lands they live on into the skies to avoid destruction. People are not entirely sure if this person could be the same or if each piece of land had their own, yet the varying degrees in culture seems to lead to the latter. While many people of Estila, Cesatino, Menetia, and Whitewater uphold more traits of benevolence and kindness and varying degrees of required worship to their saviors, many people in Urano believe more in the nature around them in their world and place less emphasis on worship. Other small islands and regions with local customs are being swarmed by these different churches and beliefs, slowly dwindling off over time. 'The Scientific View' Many scientists that have been revolutionizing Cael with inventions have actually taken a different approach to the world, of course. Many of them theorize that the massive storms actually propell these islands in the air above the cloud coverage. The clouds below have actually become idolized fearfully in forms of art and culture since the first few test flights of many nations that were lost after diving beneath them. Rain on the many islands are often created by the evaporation of other bodies of water and stray clouds from the superstorm rising up to give water to the people, this of course giving the idea of clouds as a symbol of life as well as death in the world. 'The Invention of Flight - A World Connected' Flight testing began in the United Republic of Estila in 1692, creating their first working aircraft three years hence. With their small aircraft they were first able to explore the islands around them, soon sending fleets of balloons to explore further distances and setting up different checkpoints. During the 1720's they made contact with the four current superpowers, yet they quickly learned they weren't the only ones with the power of flight. By the mid-1700's the different countries were able to hold diplomatic meetings with one another, but they also realized the possibility of profit that could be created with their birds of diplomacy. Estila was quick to militarize their air force and began to expand their technologies through the roof, other countries soon following suit. A new era of a connected world had begun, only to shatter it with the idea of colonialism and imperialism. '"The Era of Shattered Skies"' '- 1793' This age is what many people around the world are beginning to call the present period in time. Currently the five nations are beginning to expand their powers around the globe to lands "untaken" by others. With the innovations in flight and airship technology over the past one hundred years the people of Cael have begun to take to the skies in search for resources, adventure, or the preservation of defense. Recent conflicts have been fought between the different powers over the control of many lands, putting a few of them in an unoficial war between various different countries. With the faith in diplomacy slowly dwindling many nations are considering total war an option. Their competition has only locked them into belligerent operations, making the pieces of these skies scatter more and more with each day. 'The Major Regions of Cael' *United Republic of Estila *Kingdom of Minetia *Kingdom of Whitewater *Kingdom of Cesatano *Empire of Urano *Free Republic of Allarrus *Itanian Islands *Perusian Islands *Anecian Islands *Area M7V 'Helpful Reads' *Technology *Faurani *Humans *Estilan South Skies Corporation (ESSC) *Whitewater Trading Company (WTC) *Black Corsair *Musser Corporation *Crystals